


Waiting Without Patience

by Pigeonsplotinsecrecy



Series: Filling Out the Episodes [2]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: But not really angsty, Episode Tag, F/M, Grace and Carlos Being Pals, Grace and Carlos affectionately putting up with their troublemagnets, M/M, mentions of past trauma, that's pretty much it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:47:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29150715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pigeonsplotinsecrecy/pseuds/Pigeonsplotinsecrecy
Summary: Grace and Carlos get together while their partners are out fighting the wildfire. Tag for season 2 episode 3.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star)
Series: Filling Out the Episodes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139738
Comments: 19
Kudos: 127
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	Waiting Without Patience

Carlos and Grace are stuck in Austin as their respective significant others have gone to San Angelo to fight a fire that has broken out. They’ve been texting back and forth all day to cope with their worries, and neither seems to be able to get much done, so they decide that they might as well be miserable together because there’s no point in sitting around alone when they know it will be hours before their loved ones return.

Grace comes over in the evening to Carlos’ with a casserole dish in her hand and a bag of goodie in her arms. Carlos greets her warmly and takes the stuff from her hands to bring it into her kitchen. “Thanks for coming out here, Grace,” he says.

“Anytime,” Grace says.

They settle in the kitchen, and they work together to heat the meal and put it on the table. They don’t say much as they prepare, but the sound of preparations and kitchen speak soothes them, and before they know it, the meal is on the table, and they’re eating it as they talk about their weeks at work to try to distract themselves from the fears that are building in each of them.

When they’ve finished their dinners, Grace settles down on his couch. Carlos offers her some wine and then sits down himself when they both have drinks in their hands. They try to talk about anything not related to their significant others, but the conversation always seems to loop back to their others. That’s love, Carlos thinks, not being to stop thinking about a person even when they’re not there. Grace seems to feel the same way with how unabashedly she talks about Judd. They’ve gone out when they’ve both been alone for the evening before, but that had always been during normal shifts, so they could talk about their other interests more freely, but with more at stake with the wildfire, their attention couldn’t stay on any other topic and trying to ignore that one topic was more agonizing than helpful.

“So, how have you been?” Carlos asks her, seeing the fatigue on her face. He’s not just asking in the casual small-talk way. He’s asking to make sure she’s okay. They’ve both talked about the lingering trauma they have from watching people they care about be in life-threatening situations. After the explosion, Grace had been in the hospital for days as she waited for Judd to wake-up. It had been longer after that for his burns to heal, and the mental trauma had taken even longer to address. She hated having to inform him that his whole crew was dead. The fear she felt taking that call still kept her up at night, sometimes, but she never felt right burdening Judd with her worries because he had enough healing to do without having to take on her problems too. She’s better now, but she still has bad days, and it’s nice to have someone she can talk to about them.

Carlos, for his part, still has the image of T.K. being shot looping in his mind. He was there, taking care of the call, so he feels like he should have somehow known that something would have gone wrong. He had sat by T.K.’s hospital bed, and they hadn’t even been an official couple then, but Carlos had still felt so much for T.K., and he thinks that if there was such a thing as love at first sight, he would have it with T.K. Something just told him that T.K. was the one— the one worth chasing, the one worth getting to know, the one worth a long future. Carlos had felt so helpless seeing T.K. in a coma, and he still worries that something like that will happen again, but this time it might be worse. They both had their anxieties about their partners, and they were each uniquely positioned to understand the perspective of the person on the other side of trouble.

She shrugs, “I’ve been better. I keep checking my phone for any news or sign of Judd, but it’s been several hours since we’ve talked. How have you been holding up.”

“About the same. It’s been a hard day. I almost wish I had work. At least that would keep me busy.” Carlos hasn’t known what to do with himself. Nothing seems to keep his mind off the dangerous fire that T.K. has gone to fight, and it’s not just T.K. that Carlos has to worry about. He’s come to know the whole team, so losing any one of them would be devastating, but he tries not to think about the worst.

“Oh, I feel that,” she says. “You know our boys are out there causing trouble, and if we don’t stick together, we’ll both just end up thinking about all the bad things that could be happening to them. I reckon they’re doing something that they shouldn’t be doing right now.” Grace knows her husband well enough that he’s going above and beyond for the people he’s trying to help. He puts his whole self into his work, and that quality is both admirable and fear-inducing all at once.

Carlos lets out a nervous chuckle. He’s been imagining T.K. running too close to the fire to save lives. He worries that T.K.’s actions are reckless more than brave. “Yeah, who knew having a firefighter boyfriend could be so anxiety-inducing?” he says dryly. “I think I have a better idea what my poor mother must feel whenever I’m at work.” His mom requests that he call her at the end of every shift, no matter how late he gets home.

Grace smiles knowingly. “Oh yes, I’m sure you’ve got your mama real worried. I sure hope you aren’t the type to impulsively dive into dangerous situations.”

“It’s hard to resist being that type when the chance strikes, but no, not really. I like to think before I dive into a situation.”

“That’s true. I’ve wanted to reach my hand through the phone several times. Most days, really. You just want to do something physical to help people. Being in a call center makes it hard to give in to impulse, but the want is still there.”

“It takes a lot to be the person who can’t reach their hand through the phone to help them up. T.K. would not have the disposition to be a dispatcher.” Carlos laughs. “For all his good traits, he doesn’t have the patience or the ability to take a step back from a situation.”

“Judd either. He’d run out of the call center to fo put out a fire with his bare hands.” They’re both chuckling now at the thought of T.K. and Judd in a call center.

“At least the fire can’t shoot at them,” Carlos says offhandedly.

Grace shakes her head lightly. “I wouldn’t be so sure. Your boy gets in trouble just by looking at the morning the wrong way.”

Carlos can’t help the way his lips curl up with fondness. “He sure does, and Judd would jump right in to fight that trouble with him.”

“It’s terrifying, but that’s why I love him. He’d do anything for the people he loves. Once he becomes loyal, there’s no getting Judd to back down. He’s used to being the biggest guy in the room, and he uses that to his advantage.”

“T.K.’s used to being the biggest personality in the room,” Carlos counters.

Grace chuckles, “I believe that. Those two are alike in too many ways. It’s no wonder like they get on like a house on a fire.”

“Not at first,” Carlos recalls. “When we first started dating, T.K. complained about Judd the whole night.”

“I’m sure Judd was the same. They needed that fight to become closer.”

“And look at them now!”

She sighs, “Look at _us_ , we got together to be each other’s distraction and we can’t help but talk about the men we’re trying to distract from.”

“It’s kind of all I can think about until I know he’s safe, but it helps to have someone who gets it. My mom knows that she wants me to stop putting myself in danger, but that’s not the same. I don’t want him to stop because I know that he wouldn’t be himself if he did. I just want him to be safe, and I can’t help but worry until I know he is.” They both understand that they cannot change their partners, and they know that if they want their relationships to work that they have to learn to manage the feelings they have.

“I hear that. When Judd and I first married, I thought I’d get used to worrying. I thought the more he went to work, the less fearful I would be, but the truth is that I didn’t get any less fearful. All that changed was I learned how to not let that fear debilitate me. It helped that I’d been practicing that already with my job.”

“I’m glad they’re saving lives, but I can’t wait until they’re home.”

Grace lifts her glass and clinks it with Carlos’, “Cheers to that,” she says, and they sit together for the long hours of waiting.


End file.
